Pelican @ Oran Mor

Ah, metal: the music cognoscenti's favourite whipping boy. Bands like Pelican may have traded stonewash for camouflage, lost the masturbatory solos and developed a more expansive sound, but when sneaker hits distortion pedal, it's still metal. And amen to that. The group's previous Glasgow gig, if we may speak frankly, was a triumph. A fine mix of tracks ranging from the eponymous first EP to their punchier last album, City of Echoes. Live, as on record, Pelican are taut/tight/tense - pick your favourite T-word - and seamlessly mix Isis' weight with the unadulterated hope of Explosions in the Sky. Passages of relative calm become brutal squalls in a second and when the tension breaks it's only then that the crowd collectively exhales. So, if you need convincing that it's quite alright to like metal, then swallow your shame and see how far bands like Pelican have brought us from crusading mulleteers like Whitesnake. [Matt Gollock]